European Organisation of Agricultural, Rural and Forestry Contractors
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What is farm saved seed ?
Farm-saved seed are seeds harvested from certified seeds produced by the
seed industry, but multiplied by the farmer on the farm for economic reasons or to avoid to be too dependent from the seed industry.
In practice, a first harvest is obtained from certified seeds and a new generation of grain is harvested in the field in July-August. Farmers retain a part of the harvest to the farm, they calibrate and process (or not) with a mobile seed processor to reproduce their own seed for planting the following fall and spring. Farm-saved seed represents the part of grain harvested and stored at the farm for their multiplication.
The preparatory work for the cultivation can be done by the farmer himself or through services suppliers: this activity is called the mobile seed processing. The principle commonly known as "agricultural exemption" is recognized by the UPOV convention and Regulation 2100/94. Article 14 allows farmers to use for propagating purposes in the field, on their own holding the product of the harvest which they have obtained by planting, on their own holding, propagating material of a variety covered by a Community plant variety. To exercise this right, farmers, except the small farmers, are "required to pay the owner fair compensation." It also states that "the product of the harvest can be prepared for cultivation by the farmer himself or with the support of a services supplier [...]”.
A double limit was set to the "agricultural exemption":
The benefits of farm saved seeds are ecological
Farm saved seed reduces significantly the use of insecticides by replacing the standardized approach used for certified seed with a tailor made policy made possible by mobile seed processors going to the farms:
In addition other environmental benefits are taken into account:
The benefits of farm saved seeds are social
The benefits of farm saved seeds are economical (see figure 1)
In a context of diminishing marginal productivity, financial gain provided by the seed farm is critical to the competitiveness of European agriculture.
In the UK, it is generally accepted that:
In France, about 50% of grain surfaces are from farm-saved seed (2.5 million hectares) and 200 000 farmers produce their own seeds (self-production value of € 150 million), equivalent to €60 million saved in the whole country. (see figure 2)
For example, for a farm with 50 acres of wheat, 20 ha of rape and 20 hectares of peas, the net savings are € 2,870, a drop of close to 50% of the costs.
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